A LOOK in Pictures - The Year 1986

High School in Los Angeles

Cost of Living 1986

Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.91%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 1895
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 7.50%
Average Cost of new house $89,430
Median Price Of and Existing Home $80,300
Average Income per year $22,400.00
Average Monthly Rent $385.00
Average Price for new car $9,255.00
1 gallon of gas 89 cents
Casio Portable Color Television $249.99
Tandy 600 Portable Computer $1599.00
Jar Of Skippy Peanut butter $1.49
Potatoes 5 Lbs $1.00
Plymouth Colt $4,999
Ford Mustang $7,452

Elyria, Ohio
10 acres plus 3 bed home Fully modernized all appliances large kitchen $71,000

Soviet Nuclear reactor at Chernobyl explodes

• Soviet Nuclear reactor at Chernobyl explodes on April 26th causing release of radioactive material across much of Europe.

More Information for Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
1. A nuclear power station in Chernobyl, Ukraine (which was still a part of the Soviet Union) exploded during April of 1986, causing a huge nuclear disaster.
2. Due to the explosion, large amounts of radiation and radioactive material was released into the local environment, effecting the health and safety of thousands of people including plant workers, clean-up workers, and the local population.
3. The explosion and resulting fire were caused by an experiment gone wrong, the presence of design flaws in the reactor, and a lack of safety oversight.
4. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by the disaster as the Soviet Union evacuated and closed off he surrounding area within 18 miles of the nuclear plant.
5. The explosion at Chernobyl not only damaged the surrounding environment with radiation, parts of Europe, notably Sweden and Finland, were also hit with contaminated dust and air from Chernobyl as it traveled through the atmosphere.
6. Eventually clean-up workers were able to contain the nuclear disaster by putting a concrete "sarcophagus" over the damaged reactor, but it was still thought to be somewhat unstable.
7. During the late 1990s to mid-2000s Europe and Ukraine worked together to create an even more permanent and stable cover to contain the radiation. 

 

Space Shuttle Challenger

• The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates 73 seconds after launching, killing all seven astronauts on board.

More Information for the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
1. The Space Shuttle Challenger is destroyed shortly after it launched during January of 1986.
2. The space shuttle was launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida and its mission was to bring seven astronauts into space including a teacher who had been specially chosen and trained to join the mission.
3. Tragically, all of the astronauts on board where killed in the explosion.
4. It was later discovered that O-rings on the rocket booster had been compromised in colder temperatures that were experienced in the days leading up to the launch.
5. The O-ring issue had caused the fuel tank to become damaged and the space shuttle to disintegrate.
6. Due to the disaster the Space Shuttle program was suspended for two years while the issue was investigated and safety features were improved.
7. The disaster was investigated by a special government commission which found that NASA had been warned about the potential design issues but chose not to act on the warnings. 

 

Popular Culture 1986

Popular Films

• Top Gun
• Crocodile Dundee
• Platoon
• The Karate Kid, Part II
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Aliens
• Ruthless People
• The Color of Money
• The Money Pit

Popular Musicians

• Billy Joel
• Robert Palmer
• Lionel Richie
• Van Halen
• The Police
• Debbie Harry
• Simply Red
• Whitney Houston with " the greatest love of all "
• The Pretenders
• Genesis
• The Bangles with " Walk Like and Egyptian "
• Chris de Burgh
• Madonna with " Papa Don't Preach "
• Prince
• Culture Club
• Bruce Springsteen
• Pet Shop Boys

Popular TV Programs

• Magnum, P.I.
• Dynasty
• Falcon Crest
• Hill Street Blues
• Cagney and Lacey
• Cheers
• Fame
• Family Ties
• Remington Steele
• The A-Team
• Highway to Heaven
• Murder, She Wrote
• The Cosby Show
• EastEnders
• Growing Pains
• Neighbors
• The Twilight Zone

Major World Political Leaders 

Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke

 

Canada Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Li Xiannian

France President François Mitterrand

Germany Chancellor Helmut Kohl 

 
India Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi

Italy Prime Minister Bettino Craxi

Japan Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone  

Mexico President Miguel de la Madrid  

Russia / Soviet Union General Secretary of the CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev  

South Africa State President Pieter Willem Botha  

United States President Ronald Reagan  

United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher